HC notice to Punjab on ‘illegal mining''

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 13

The Punjab and Haryana High Court today put the State of Punjab on notice on a petition seeking directions for taking action against illegal extraction of excess quantity of sand from the mining sites in Ludhiana district.

The notice by the Bench of Justice Ajay Kumar Mittal and Justice Anupinder Singh Grewal came on a petition filed in public interest against the State of Punjab and other respondents by Karnail Singh and other petitioners through counsel Ramandeep Singh Pandher.

Appearing before the Bench, Pandher asserted the petitioners were deeply concerned with the present issue related to carrying of sand in excessively overloaded tippers from sand mines at Dupana, Lubangarh and Sikanderpur in Samrala tehsil.

Elaborating, Pandher submitted on the petitioner’s behalf “huge loss” was being caused to the government exchequer by carrying sand in overloaded tippers. He added more than 50 tons of sand was being carried, while the slips mentioned 12 to 15 tons only. This, he submitted, was causing hazard. The roads and streets used by the overloaded tippers were being damaged, along with water supply lines. Extracting sand in excess of the permissible quantity was also causing danger to the ecology and environment of the area.